World agri congress so far attracts 33 foreign, 247 Indian delegates

Four-day event begins in Hyderabad from Monday

Only 33 foreign delegates have registered their names so far for taking part in the World Agricultural Forum (WAF) Congress  to be held in the city for the first time from Monday, according to state minister for agriculture and co-patron of the event, Kanna Lakshmi Narayana.

The number appears to be small considering that the WAF website states that the annual event had been attracting participation from 110 countries since 1998.

The theme of the 2013 Congress is, ‘Re-shaping agriculture for sustainable future: Focus on small farmholders’.

Founded in 1997 in Missouri, WAF is stated to be an international agricultural forum that strives to bring together the leaders from the private sector with key policy makers and policy influencers to focus on food, fuel, fibre and water to the world's growing population.

The minister told mediapersons on Thursday that 247 Indian delegates had registered to attend the congress, which was used to be held only in the US till 2009. The annual event is being held outside the US only from 2011.

He said the state government would hold an agri-trade fair as a parallel event, which was expected to be visited by 5,000 farmers from across the state.

The state government had set up a steering committee of ministers to oversee the arrangements for the four-day event. The deliberations of the meeting would be published and sent to all stakeholders in the Indian agricultural sector, the minister added.